Stolen
Generations
Working
Partnership
“We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their
country. For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations,
their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry. To the
mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking
up of families and communities, we say sorry. And for the indignity and
degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we
say sorry.”
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, 13 February 2008
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Stolen Generations
Working Partnership
On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
offered the National Apology in a spirit of respect, and
in recognition of the profound grief, suffering and loss
inflicted on Stolen Generations.
The policy landscape has changed significantly since
the release of the Bringing them home report in 1997,
especially since the change in national government
in 2007.
At the time it was acknowledged that words alone were
not enough.
Taking into account the range of reforms and
investments underway, this Working Partnership
provides a platform for Government, service providers
and the Stolen Generations to work together. We will
work to respond to the priority issues identified in this
document, drawing on existing programs and resources.
As part of this work, it will be important to look
carefully at the recommendations in the Bringing them
home report.
Since the National Apology, the Australian Government
has increased funding to $25 million per year for family
reunion services for Stolen Generations’ members and
Bringing Them Home Counsellors (a funding increase of 50
per cent between 2007–08 and 2009–10).
A further $26 million has been allocated towards the
establishment of a new and independent Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation, which will focus on
the healing needs and aspirations of the Stolen Generations.
The Bringing them home report (1997)
Bringing them home was a watershed report because
it documented the experiences of many survivors
of the Stolen Generations from across the country.
It also presented 54 recommendations for action by
the Australian Government and state and territory
governments, churches and the non-government sector.
The Australian Government— across a number of
portfolios—has responded to the report, implementing
some parts of its recommendations.
Submissions to the Bringing them home report clearly
demonstrated the ongoing effects of forcible removal
from family and country on the wellbeing of members
of the Stolen Generations and their children.
Every year since the report was released, on 26 May 1997,
community advocates have acknowledged the anniversary
of National Sorry Day and led a national campaign for
social justice for the Stolen Generations. This year on 26
May, the Australian Government reflects on what more
needs to be accomplished and what we can agree to work
on together.
A new national focus and partnership
Through the Stolen Generations’ Working Partnership
(this document), the Australian Government is inviting a
partnership with Stolen Generations and their supporters
to address the immediate and practical needs of the Stolen
Generations. The majority of Stolen Generations are now
over 45 years of age. Many are Elders or leaders in their
family or community. Ongoing support is needed to deal
with the daily experience of various types of trauma,
loss and grief, and to help whole families and future
generations to stop the cycle of trauma from continuing.
Through this Working Partnership the Australian
Government reaffirms its commitment to the Stolen
Generations, recognising both their desire to articulate
and lead their own pathways and solutions, and the
need for broader understanding within the Australian
community.
In addition to Stolen Generations’ advocates and
organisations, government agencies, service providers,
peak bodies, churches, businesses, community groups and
individuals are encouraged to participate and contribute.
Engagement with the Stolen Generations
Stolen Generations’ key stakeholders include
nationally-based and regionally and locally-based
Stolen Generations’ organisations, and Link-Up
Services. This document was developed in consultation
with the two national Stolen Generations’ bodies.
Throughout implementation we will continue to work
with them, and inclusively and openly with a range
of Stolen Generation organisations. The Australian
Government acknowledges the importance of ongoing
advocacy by Stolen Generations to address all of the
issues that concern them.
Become involved:
The Australian Government has created a quarterly
Stolen Generations’ newsletter to keep members
of the Stolen Generations’ communities, as well
as Stolen Generations’ organisations, abreast of
new opportunities. To subscribe to this newsletter
OR to register your organisation’s interest in
becoming involved with this partnership, please
email: [email protected]
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Priority issues
Some priority issues were highlighted by Stolen
Generations’ advocates in the development of this
Working Partnership and are acknowledged here as
a starting point for collaboration with the Australian
Government. These priorities have been supported
by other key services in the health and well being
sector, as well as in community consultations—for
example during the development of the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation.
1. Access to services –
a. Greater awareness is needed across government and
non-government sectors including Indigenous and
main stream service providers, policy makers and
public servants.
b. Stolen Generations need to feel that they have
sufficient opportunity to participate in decision
making about how services are delivered to them and
lead the development of their own solutions.
c. In services designed for Stolen Generations’
members, priority should be given as much as
possible to the present needs of Stolen Generations’
members. Special attention should also be given to
older members of the Stolen Generations.
d. Appropriate diagnosis and pathways to care for
Stolen Generations’ members with social and
emotional well being issues is needed.
e. Collection and availability of data and evidence
on Stolen Generations’ as a distinct group within
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data collections
is needed.
f. The difficulty in establishing Proof of Aboriginality
because of ad hoc processes and a lack of a system for
mediation, appeal or counselling if a claim is rejected
needs to be addressed.
2. Healing –
a. Record oral histories and other ways to honour Stolen
Generations’ experiences and resilience.
b. Create places of belonging and acceptance and
maintain connection with other Stolen Generations’
members, recognising that some will remain very
close throughout life to those they grew up with in
institutions.
c. Recognise the importance that culture and connection
to country has to restoring identity, as well as reunifying with family wherever possible.
d. Establish a successful relationship between Stolen
Generations and the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Healing Foundation to empower Stolen
Generations to develop their own healing programs
and support groups, as well as an evidence base of
what works.
3. Justice System –
a. Support Stolen Generations’ members and their
children who are in prison, both pre- and post-release.
b. Availability of training to police, legal aid workers,
judicial staff and corrective services staff, so they
understand the life-long impacts of institutionalisation
and how to most effectively work with members of
Stolen Generations and their families.
4. Education –
a. Incorporate Stolen Generations’ resources into the
schools curriculum, university training for Australian
teachers, and training for trainers in the Vocational
Education and Training sector.
b. Build broader community awareness about the
history and resilience of Stolen Generations, including
within both Indigenous and broader communities.
Responding to priorities
The Australian Government has taken practical steps
to progress the specific initiatives and priority areas
identified in this Working Partnership document.
1. Keeping the memory alive
Since 2007, the Australian Government has:
• Launched the Bringing Them Home Oral History
Project webpage, which will see up to 300 oral
histories made available online, giving the community
greater access to these recordings and ensuring the
ongoing preservation of the Stolen Generations’
stories. Currently, 89 interviews are online.
• Provided $100,000 in funding (2009–10) to the
Kanyini Foundation to commence a pilot in New South
Wales to record Stolen Generations’ stories on film
and make these available on a purpose-built website.
• Provided funding for the National Sorry Day
Committee and the Stolen Generations Alliance
to hold their annual general meetings and events
associated with National Sorry Day and the
Anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations.
Acknowledging and improving awareness about Stolen
Generations’ experiences is an important element
of the priority issues identified above. Through this
Working Partnership, we will work to:
• Support Stolen Generations to record their
experiences and reflections—through diverse media,
such as written and oral histories, art, songs and
poetry—and ensure these are stored and catalogued.
For example, the Australian Government is funding
the National Library to make the stories of Stolen
Generations more available through online media,
and to work with national and state and territory
archives and other bodies to improve access to records.
• Draw on these materials to inform the development
of professional resources for use in schools and
training programs.
• Honour and remember the experiences of Stolen
Generations and keep these memories alive before
the general population by marking the Anniversary of
the Apology to the Stolen Generations’ and National
Sorry Day, and consider other initiatives such as
memorials, Keeping Places, essay or art exhibitions
and travelling displays.
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• Empower the Stolen Generations to be involved in
community education about the history and resilience
of the Stolen Generations and make this part of the
broader reconciliation movement and Indigenous
community activities (for example, during National
Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee
Week (NAIDOC).
• Ensure Stolen Generations’ perspectives are
included in the development and implementation of
initiatives which strengthen Indigenous culture and
sense of identity—such as the National Indigenous
Languages Action Plan, which encourages more
grass-roots collaboration between language learning
programs and Stolen Generations’ members and their
organisations.
2. Continue and improve support through Stolen
Generations’ specific initiatives
Since 2007, the Australian Government has provided:
• $15.7 million (2007–08) over four years for additional
resources and support to enable additional reunions
of Stolen Generations’ members with their families
through Link-Up Services and also to fund an extra 20
Bringing Them Home Counsellors.
• An additional $13.8 million over three years (2009–10
Budget) to expand and strengthen Link-Up Services
to address the critical backlog, as well as improve the
preservation of and access to records for family tracing
and reunions. This measure funds Link-Up Services to
provide Return to Country and institutional reunions.
There are currently over 120 full-time Bringing Them
Home Counsellors located in 80 Aboriginal Community
Controlled Health Organisations.
• $26.6 million (2009–10 Budget) for the establishment
of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing
Foundation. The Foundation will support communitybased healing initiatives for Indigenous Australians
affected by past government policies such as forced
removal, with a strong focus on the Stolen Generations.
On 7 May 2010, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Healing Foundation announced its first funding round of
$2 million for local, community-led healing projects to
help people overcome the underlying causes of trauma
and prevent the cycle from continuing.
• Small grants funding to Stolen Generations’
organisations and organisations which support Stolen
Generations’ members. The aim of this funding was
to assist organisations to serve the needs of Stolen
Generations’ members at the grassroots level.
The Australian Government recognises that the Stolen
Generations are in need of targeted services which
address their particular needs, such as help with tracing,
reconnecting and maintaining connection with their
families. The Government also recognises the critical
need for healing services to be led by Stolen Generations
to overcome the trauma of removal and the associated
intergenerational effects.
Through this Working Partnership, we will work with
specialist services and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Healing Foundation on the priority issues outlined
in this document:
• Bringing Them Home Counsellors —fund counsellors
to provide counselling to individuals and families
affected by past practices of forced removal and,
where possible, integrate them into Link-Up Services.
• Link-Up Services —provide family tracing, reunion
and support services to assist Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples who were separated from their
families and communities as a result of past laws,
policies and practices of Australian Governments.
• Workforce Support Units —provide workforce
support services for the Bringing Them Home
Counsellors, Link-Up Services workers and,
Substance Use Workers. These arrangements
involve strengthening the Indigenous Social and
Emotional Well Being health workforce through: peer
support; development of cross-sector linkages and
interagency cooperation; identification of training
needs; and coordination of mental health and social
and emotional well being training delivery with
Registered Training Organisations.
• The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Healing
Foundation—addresses trauma and aids healing in
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,
with a focus on incorporating Stolen Generations’
needs and issues. The Foundation is an independent,
Indigenous-run organisation that focuses on:
» providing funding and capacity development to
grassroots healing initiatives, including those
which assist in the healing of Stolen Generations’
survivors, in response to community needs.
» healing promotion, education and skills training in
the prevention and treatment of trauma.
» contributing to an evidence base for Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander healing through
community-driven and culturally appropriate
research and evaluation.
3. New Responses to Emerging Needs
The Australian Government will be responsive to the
emerging needs of the Stolen Generations by:
• Seeking innovative aged care responses for members
of the Stolen Generations, taking into consideration
their differing needs, and increasing the knowledge
and awareness of aged care service providers about
those needs.
• Developing new policy responses to the
intergenerational impacts of the Stolen Generations,
particularly looking at targeting young people as they
make the transition to adulthood.
• Exploring alternative or emerging technologies
to improve family tracing, where that tracing is
complicated by multiple removals or lack of records.
4. Building capacity and connections with mainstream
and other Indigenous services
Since 2007, the Australian Government has:
• Invested $585,000 in the leadership skills of the
Stolen Generations to support them as community
advocates, including:
» At least 10 scholarships totalling $81,000, for
members of the Stolen Generations to undertake
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a Certificate II in Indigenous Leadership at the
Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre.
» The National Stolen Generations’ Indigenous
Leadership Program, through which participants
will have the chance to meet with other Indigenous
peoples from diverse backgrounds and get
involved in leadership activities, and in one-onone and group discussions.
» Support for local events around the country to mark
the Second Anniversary of the National Apology.
Through this Working Partnership, the Australian
Government will also focus on the capacity of other
Indigenous and mainstream service providers to
effectively engage with Stolen Generations by:
• Ensuring that training for staff of government and
community services with significant proportions of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients includes
an understanding of the impact of the forced removal
of Indigenous children. The services provided to
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients must
be sensitive to the needs of the Stolen Generations
and should encourage the Stolen Generations to
be involved in decision making about the services
provided to them.
• Building linkages between specialist services for
Stolen Generations’ members and mainstream and
other Indigenous services to help these services
better fit the special needs of these clients. Both
mainstream and Indigenous services need to better
understand why members of the Stolen Generations
are hesitant to engage with them and how to
effectively engage and meet the needs of these
clients. These services include, but are not limited to:
» Centrelink
» Indigenous Community Support Services
utmost care, respect and responsibility for personal
privacy issues.
• Governments have agreed, as part of the Council of
Australian Governments’ National Urban and Regional
Service Delivery Strategy for Indigenous Australians,
to recognise the importance of working in partnership
with Indigenous organisations to strengthen and
support families and children affected by past
policies of forced removal. An important first step in
fulfiling this commitment will be to examine ways to
improve the identification of members of the Stolen
Generations within existing data collections across a
range of key agencies and services.
5. Recognition in public policy
The Australian Government wants to ensure that
the special needs of Stolen Generations’ members
are recognised and responded to in public policy
development. Relevant frameworks include:
» Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education
Action Plan, and forthcoming Training Plan.
» Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
Workforce Strategic Framework— currently being
reviewed. The Framework for 2010–15 is being
developed through the Australian Health Ministers’
Advisory Council.
» The Council of Australian Governments’ National
Integrated Strategy for Closing the Gap in
Indigenous Disadvantage.
» The Council of Australian Governments’ National
Action Plan on Mental Health 2006–2011
» Health Workforce Australia—The Council of
Australian Governments is establishing Health
Workforce Australia, to manage and oversee major
reforms to the Australian health workforce.
» Family Relationship Services
» National Framework for Protecting Australia’s
Children 2009–2020, including the NonGovernment Organisations’ consultative forum
» Family Support Services
» National Indigenous Languages Policy
» Child and Maternal Support Services, including
Indigenous Child and Family Centres
» National Indigenous Reform Agreement
» Personal Helpers and Mentors Services
» Indigenous Parenting Support Services and
Indigenous Playgroup Providers
» Emergency Relief Services
» Homelessness Services
» Legal Aid Services
» Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services
» Aboriginal Legal Services
» Residential Aged Care Services
» National Archives and other record keeping
institutions
» Native Title Services
» Aboriginal Carers Services.
• Working with mainstream and other Indigenous
services, including police, legal services, courts
and corrective services, to support members of the
Stolen Generations and their families involved in the
criminal justice systems.
• Examining arrangements between Centrelink
and Link-Up Services to assist with tracing family
members of Stolen Generations while maintaining the
» National Indigenous Law and Justice Framework
2009–2015
» National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Health 2003–2013.
Other important work is also being undertaken by
independent bodies on teaching professional standards
and curriculum development, in which engagement
with Stolen Generations’ organisations and leaders will
be encouraged.
This work across public policy will be aimed at responding
to the priority issues identified in this Stolen Generations’
Working Partnership document. As part of this work, it will
be important to look carefully at the recommendations in
the Bringing them home report.
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